Regarding Dan Oh's decision to give up...I think the fact that she's jealous has a huge part in it. Her ego was…
I have to agree with you with all your points, and thank you for giving me another perspective of her character. Deep down, I expect her to have different coping mechanism. Seen this in a lot of other drama, where the lead girl stay away from the main guy for all the reason you mention; jealousy, safety, fear, etc. Perhaps in this drama, because I do like it a lot, I was hoping that no matter how crushed she was, she'd have faint light of positivity and hope, because she was portrayed as a smart, determined, intuitive, and sharp person, I wish they kept her that way, so even when she went through devastating events, like the missing Haru and day he came back, she'd react with actions that somehow retain traces of her traits I mentioned. Rather than avoiding the consequences spurred from her desires to change her fate, she rather face it with her wits, and throw the blame to the right person, and it's definitely shouldn't have been Haru on the first place, no matter how much she liked him and the conflicting feelings resulted from it. Lol, I mean they're just high school students and it's the phase where we do things against our minds, so yeah, I'm just being picky and selfish right now.
Dan Oh's depressing state and giving up so easily on Haru really put me off on these last 2 episodes too. It even…
Right, for me it was all the contradictions... and you pinpoint perfectly my confusion of her character. And to your next paragraph, perhaps this was what I thought would be reasonable of her supposed reaction. I've always seen her as a reasonable and smart person, so it felt off for me when she blamed Haru instead. Maybe she's scared that she would hurt Haru again, she also fears for his safety, at the same time upset because he came back as a different person who didn't even remember her. I can see it as part of her ego, she's the first one to notice Haru, gave him name, she felt sparkles even though she's not aware of it yet, but now she had to start all over from zero again. I thought they're inserting this trope into Dan Oh to put introduce Baek Kyung's perspective of the situation. It's just that, there are other ways they can do to make Dan Oh's emotional transition more believable. Here, I feel like it didn't do any justice to Dan Oh's spirit and determined character on the first place. It's like she becomes a generic one we often see in most female leads in kdrama. I do admit we can shift to different kind of emotions abruptly, with our environment and our mental stability play certain roles, but it would be rather tricky when they're translating this to a film/drama medium. I see no different in how they portrayed it in this drama.
I don't know why but everytime I see the ML my heart just fills up with warmth. His presence is just so comforting.
He reminds me of someone I know in real life, but can't give names to who it might be. And you're right, it's comforting lol. He can do so much with subtle expressions.
is there any romance between Jung Yoo Jin and Ki Do Hoon?
It's not yet hinted. I personally believe it's Yoo Jin and Sun Ho's character that had a history, and the look she gave when Sun Ho and Geun Young met is either bordering jealous or she simply had that kind of reservation for people in general. Or maybe she's icky due to differences that lead to failure in their past cases when she worked with Sun Ho.
I think this story is running thin with the plot, and they couldn't be more creative by making Dan Oh a pessimistic heroine who throws tantrum to Haru because of things that's out of his control (like, missing from the story for a little while). I see that she's frustrated with the whole ordeal, especially with her disease which can kick her off from the story, or the comic world for good, but personally it felt too fast for her to give up in just a matter of two episodes. Baek Kyung gave me mixed feelings. We still have 8 episodes, and they'd either pull it out with fillers or inconsistent character's action, like Dan Oh's, who at first is shown to be a risk taker and strong, but suddenly becomes whiny when Haru disappear. Her resolve is by avoiding him, and this is so far my lack of understanding of her choice. I'll see this drama flopping for my taste, so that I wouldn't feel bitter when it does happen, which I hope not. I put this mindset so I can enjoy the show regardless the characters' course throughout the plot, and to like it as it is. x)) Me complaining like this is a sign that I'm completely invested, hence why I'm prone to notice the lackluster things I find for myself.
this writer is cruel.. just when i started warming up to hyang mi's character, /thathappened. i don't know how to feel. i have mixed feelings, i know this is just a drama, but it hurts because how real it felt, her situation, the stakes, her sadness, along with dongbaek's.
jong woo killed him lol. you might want to tag your comment as spoiler.
Because that's just Jong Woo's hallucination :x And that scene happened after he killed Moon Jo. He had been suffering from PTSD and DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), in which he manifest other persona of himself. In the last episode, in order to stay 'sane' and free from guilt, he went by as Moon Jo when murdering the residents, including Moon Jo, so in his memories, it was Moon Jo that murdered everyone, and not him. Hence the scene where he confront Moon Jo, while the gf didn't saw anyone but him, because that's Jong Woo talking to his other persona, which now manifest in the form of Moon Jo.
If you're still confused, you can read jazminemedia's interpretation from the link given by one of the mdl user in the comment section, or you can check my previous comment tagged spoiler.
This drama means so much to me. Glad to have seen a series that capture the beauty and poignancy of the old age. Like some of you, I also felt a bit skeptic watching a show about elders, as I thought the story would be boring because of the way elders are usually portrayed in some drama and movies. But here, the characters are all compelling and complex on their own. You will care a lot for each of them, including the younger casts, like Wan etc. This isn't a mere drama. It's life itself. 10/10.
Now I understand what the title means. I had no idea what the story would be about, because I came in without reading the synopsis or people’s reviews. What I thought was about the rags to riches story turns out to be a Game of Thrones miniature of sort.
They did it so well when drawing the fine line between the rich and the poor family without making it melancholy. Instead, it made my mind went blank for a bit. I needed to process the scene where the couple slept on the couch transitioned to the three of the poor family escaping the house and trying to save their belongings among the flood.
I don’t know if it’s the intention, but the way they dressed and act when they’re not playing their servant roles reminds me of rats or cockroaches, which I think, could have been the intention, especially considering how more than once, the talk about the smell occurred in the rich family.
Powerful without being preachy, sometimes a story can be this cruel to show the characters’ wish to survive had them gaining nothing in the end.
Her character outside the “scenes” is everyone who watches the same drama tropes
I think what Chiff meant is, when Dan Oh isn't on stage, her character usually said things that represent us as viewers, when watching tropes commonly found in drama/manga/comic.
i'm impressed with haruke ayase's acting here, this is my first time watching her on-screen. she gives the princess the supposed regal aura to her, and although her physical rudeness can be a pain to see, it's quite understandable to me. the story reminded me of hotarubi no mori e, and the ending reminds me of titanic. i wouldn't say this movie was unique per se, but it offers a sweet tale of two hearts enjoying each other company. 6.5/10
sweet little story. the core of the story is the daughter and the mother relationship. most of the movie is filled with slice of life moments, when they plant, sow, and harvest, and cook it. would recommend this if you're looking for a simple and soothing type of movie. 7/10
I am enjoying this drama AND I think the main leads are doing a great job... am I the only one? Seems like there…
We all have varying standards to what makes a good drama. In my case, it doesn't matter if they used recycled plot, things that has been used in hundreds of other drama, as long as the directing, acting, and dialogue doesn't come as bogus. And here in this drama, I think some people don't like it because show didn't offer anything new? I personally love it, and it's the only sageuk I feel clicked with on its first ep and wanting to see the next one. Dunno if it had anything to do with my low exposure of sageuk. Or maybe because everyone is doing a great job, from the casts to the staffs.
Good points really, but what bothers me about the story is all these things happened in one and a half weeks or…
how do you know it had been happening in that particular time? i agree that the show could have paced out a bit with more episodes. we had the lack of proper backstory for the residents. it would have been more interesting if they actually showed us how the residents came to stay together, from the time they met at the orphanage?
i wouldn't say that Moon Jo's obsession is meaningless, but yeah, with more exposure to the escalation, perhaps Jong Woo's descend into the madness would have been more tragic, and it could emphasized more on Moon Jo's biggest asset or his vilest: manipulating one's mind, tricking them into awaking the beast lies dormant inside. And thus, the metamorphosis aspect would be more prominent, and in this case, brings more debate as to whether a monster is created or born.
but i'd also see it this way out of the short episodes: the real reason of why Moon Jo only needed a short time to 'create' Jong Woo is because, the guy is only waiting for someone to turn on the switch. the demon inside Jong Woo only needs someone who knows how to tick him off, and that person is Moon Jo.
jung woo basically kills everyone. He kills the pervert first, then the creepy lady, and finally the guy with…
because everyone around him mistreat him (ofc, they have their own situation). her gf, the boss who keep on stomping on his pride, glass guy co-worker. i think somewhere on the 9th or 10th ep, Moon Jo address the boss's fakeness to Jong Woo, like the nice act he did was only for the sake of formality/impressing his gf? even when these people have their own situation, Jong Woo is already harboring mental problems far before this, and the goshiwon residents only further fuel this part of him, especially Moon Jo, his 'master'. i think no one realized Jong Woo's mental health problem and he never treat it in psychiatrist. so how can someone help him? every time he told them his concerns about the goshiwon, they take it with a grain of salt, and even blame Jong Woo's close mindedness, and they never even offer or force him to stay in their house? Jong Woo has his pride too so that's why he'd rather suffocates in the goshiwon rather than asking for help.
this is my take on the story as a whole: Jong Woo might manifest psychopathic tendencies... this is first indicated in the story during his army time. But he never did more of this tendency of him. the trigger that truly unleash his demon are the goshiwon residents, with Moon Jo being the first to notice Jong Woo's potential.
the goshiwon residents do kill people, but Jong Woo is a different beast. although not shown directly, i'm sure Moon Jo, who seems to be the most intelligent, learns a lot about Jong Woo through the peephole and during his time stalking Jong Woo's every move. it's very likely that he understands Jong Woo's PTSD, and the probability of him also having DID. i'm just not sure when exactly Jong Woo started having DID? i'm blind to psychology, but it could be happening around the same time his traumatic experience on the army, workplace, and mostly, in the goshiwon began.
about the ending, Jong Woo did kill all the residents. Moon Jo is a real character, but he did die in the end. when Jong Woo talked to himself at times, as shown when they're having company dinner, or in his nightmare, and lastly, during the goshiwon confrontation where Ji Eun saw Jong Woo talking to himself while choking his neck, i believe it's more like he was talking to his other persona, and not Moon Jo's.
when officer Jung Hwa saw Moon Jo on the hospital's lift, i believe it indicates how Jong Woo has merged with Moon Jo mentally, since Moon Jo had succeed on creating his masterpiece, which is Jong Woo. Moon Jo's stalkerish behavior also still affect Officer Jung Hwa a lot as she felt anxious when turning on her car.
truly enjoy the ride with this bloodfest. gave me the chills. i love what they did to each character, especially to jongwoo. that teeth is like a souvenir from the goshiwon residents. best to avoid this drama if you're allergic to bloodbath or mental-bending scenes. 8.5/10.
Deep down, I expect her to have different coping mechanism. Seen this in a lot of other drama, where the lead girl stay away from the main guy for all the reason you mention; jealousy, safety, fear, etc.
Perhaps in this drama, because I do like it a lot, I was hoping that no matter how crushed she was, she'd have faint light of positivity and hope, because she was portrayed as a smart, determined, intuitive, and sharp person, I wish they kept her that way, so even when she went through devastating events, like the missing Haru and day he came back, she'd react with actions that somehow retain traces of her traits I mentioned. Rather than avoiding the consequences spurred from her desires to change her fate, she rather face it with her wits, and throw the blame to the right person, and it's definitely shouldn't have been Haru on the first place, no matter how much she liked him and the conflicting feelings resulted from it. Lol, I mean they're just high school students and it's the phase where we do things against our minds, so yeah, I'm just being picky and selfish right now.
I thought they're inserting this trope into Dan Oh to put introduce Baek Kyung's perspective of the situation. It's just that, there are other ways they can do to make Dan Oh's emotional transition more believable. Here, I feel like it didn't do any justice to Dan Oh's spirit and determined character on the first place. It's like she becomes a generic one we often see in most female leads in kdrama.
I do admit we can shift to different kind of emotions abruptly, with our environment and our mental stability play certain roles, but it would be rather tricky when they're translating this to a film/drama medium. I see no different in how they portrayed it in this drama.
I see that she's frustrated with the whole ordeal, especially with her disease which can kick her off from the story, or the comic world for good, but personally it felt too fast for her to give up in just a matter of two episodes.
Baek Kyung gave me mixed feelings.
We still have 8 episodes, and they'd either pull it out with fillers or inconsistent character's action, like Dan Oh's, who at first is shown to be a risk taker and strong, but suddenly becomes whiny when Haru disappear. Her resolve is by avoiding him, and this is so far my lack of understanding of her choice.
I'll see this drama flopping for my taste, so that I wouldn't feel bitter when it does happen, which I hope not. I put this mindset so I can enjoy the show regardless the characters' course throughout the plot, and to like it as it is. x))
Me complaining like this is a sign that I'm completely invested, hence why I'm prone to notice the lackluster things I find for myself.
i don't know how to feel. i have mixed feelings, i know this is just a drama, but it hurts because how real it felt, her situation, the stakes, her sadness, along with dongbaek's.
He had been suffering from PTSD and DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), in which he manifest other persona of himself. In the last episode, in order to stay 'sane' and free from guilt, he went by as Moon Jo when murdering the residents, including Moon Jo, so in his memories, it was Moon Jo that murdered everyone, and not him. Hence the scene where he confront Moon Jo, while the gf didn't saw anyone but him, because that's Jong Woo talking to his other persona, which now manifest in the form of Moon Jo.
If you're still confused, you can read jazminemedia's interpretation from the link given by one of the mdl user in the comment section, or you can check my previous comment tagged spoiler.
This isn't a mere drama. It's life itself. 10/10.
They did it so well when drawing the fine line between the rich and the poor family without making it melancholy. Instead, it made my mind went blank for a bit. I needed to process the scene where the couple slept on the couch transitioned to the three of the poor family escaping the house and trying to save their belongings among the flood.
I don’t know if it’s the intention, but the way they dressed and act when they’re not playing their servant roles reminds me of rats or cockroaches, which I think, could have been the intention, especially considering how more than once, the talk about the smell occurred in the rich family.
Powerful without being preachy, sometimes a story can be this cruel to show the characters’ wish to survive had them gaining nothing in the end.
9/10
the story reminded me of hotarubi no mori e, and the ending reminds me of titanic. i wouldn't say this movie was unique per se, but it offers a sweet tale of two hearts enjoying each other company. 6.5/10
And here in this drama, I think some people don't like it because show didn't offer anything new?
I personally love it, and it's the only sageuk I feel clicked with on its first ep and wanting to see the next one. Dunno if it had anything to do with my low exposure of sageuk. Or maybe because everyone is doing a great job, from the casts to the staffs.
i agree that the show could have paced out a bit with more episodes. we had the lack of proper backstory for the residents. it would have been more interesting if they actually showed us how the residents came to stay together, from the time they met at the orphanage?
i wouldn't say that Moon Jo's obsession is meaningless, but yeah, with more exposure to the escalation, perhaps Jong Woo's descend into the madness would have been more tragic, and it could emphasized more on Moon Jo's biggest asset or his vilest: manipulating one's mind, tricking them into awaking the beast lies dormant inside. And thus, the metamorphosis aspect would be more prominent, and in this case, brings more debate as to whether a monster is created or born.
but i'd also see it this way out of the short episodes: the real reason of why Moon Jo only needed a short time to 'create' Jong Woo is because, the guy is only waiting for someone to turn on the switch. the demon inside Jong Woo only needs someone who knows how to tick him off, and that person is Moon Jo.
even when these people have their own situation, Jong Woo is already harboring mental problems far before this, and the goshiwon residents only further fuel this part of him, especially Moon Jo, his 'master'. i think no one realized Jong Woo's mental health problem and he never treat it in psychiatrist. so how can someone help him? every time he told them his concerns about the goshiwon, they take it with a grain of salt, and even blame Jong Woo's close mindedness, and they never even offer or force him to stay in their house? Jong Woo has his pride too so that's why he'd rather suffocates in the goshiwon rather than asking for help.
Jong Woo might manifest psychopathic tendencies... this is first indicated in the story during his army time. But he never did more of this tendency of him. the trigger that truly unleash his demon are the goshiwon residents, with Moon Jo being the first to notice Jong Woo's potential.
the goshiwon residents do kill people, but Jong Woo is a different beast. although not shown directly, i'm sure Moon Jo, who seems to be the most intelligent, learns a lot about Jong Woo through the peephole and during his time stalking Jong Woo's every move. it's very likely that he understands Jong Woo's PTSD, and the probability of him also having DID. i'm just not sure when exactly Jong Woo started having DID? i'm blind to psychology, but it could be happening around the same time his traumatic experience on the army, workplace, and mostly, in the goshiwon began.
about the ending, Jong Woo did kill all the residents. Moon Jo is a real character, but he did die in the end. when Jong Woo talked to himself at times, as shown when they're having company dinner, or in his nightmare, and lastly, during the goshiwon confrontation where Ji Eun saw Jong Woo talking to himself while choking his neck, i believe it's more like he was talking to his other persona, and not Moon Jo's.
when officer Jung Hwa saw Moon Jo on the hospital's lift, i believe it indicates how Jong Woo has merged with Moon Jo mentally, since Moon Jo had succeed on creating his masterpiece, which is Jong Woo. Moon Jo's stalkerish behavior also still affect Officer Jung Hwa a lot as she felt anxious when turning on her car.
pls correct me i'm wrong.
best to avoid this drama if you're allergic to bloodbath or mental-bending scenes. 8.5/10.